Council Member, Rhodesia Ransom

Rhodesia Ransom was elected to the Tracy City Council in November 2016.She, her husband K.T. Ransom, and their children (Malik, Kaiya, and Kahlia) have been proud to call Tracy home since 2002.

Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Mrs. Ransom has a longstanding record of committed public service. She first developed a passion for community work while working alongside her grandmother, a missionary who served both domestic and foreign missions.

Rhodesia received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Francisco State University and her master’s in Public Administration from Golden Gate University. She has used her experience and education in public administration to create solutions that address the concerns of the community, and she has also taught public policy and public finance at the graduate school level.

She was appointed to serve on the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury from 2006-2008 (serving as Vice-Foreman from 2007-2008) where she served on numerous committees, helped expose wasteful county government spending, and promoted solutions to improve transparency, efficiency, and service delivery across dozens of public agencies.

From 2009-2016, Rhodesia served as a planning commissioner (2 terms as chair) for the City of Tracy where she worked to protect the quality of life and attract quality businesses by overseeing land use and zoning policies, while vetting projects and providing direction to housing and commercial developments according to the goals of the city and the general plan.

Rhodesia is co-founder and executive director of Sow A Seed Community Foundation, a local non-profit that offers mentoring and seeks to improve the social, emotional and behavioral health of youth in San Joaquin County. She has developed innovative partnerships with local schools, public safety professionals and businesses to address a diverse array of unmet community needs not only for youth, but also for their families. Her efforts have connected hundreds of local youth with leadership training and mentorship opportunities, brought gang violence intervention programs into our schools, and helped families protect their homes from the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Some of Ms. Ransom’s other current and past community posts include:

·Board Member, Tracy Police Activities League

·Member, Deuel Vocational Institution (prison) Advisory Committee

·Inaugural member, Tracy Unified School District Anti-Bully Committee

·Tracy Women’s Forum Board of Directors

·President of a Kimball High School PTA

·Ambassador, League of Women Voters

·Former Board Member, Tracy Performing Arts Foundation

As a result of her distinguished record of service to community, the Central Valley Drum Magazine featured Rhodesia Ransom as the 2007 Grassroots Activist of the year; The San Joaquin County Democratic Central Committee awarded her their 2011 Community Spirit Award; The Tracy Women’s Forum named her the 2012 Woman of Tracy; the Tracy African American Association awarded her their 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. image award; The Stockton Links honored her with their 2015 “Clemmie Award” for service to youth; the Stockton Branch of the NAACP awarded her their 2015 Freedom Fighter Award for service to the community; the Tracy All City Revival honored her in March 2016 for service to the community; and the Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star recognized her as a “Luminary Women of Faith” in April 2016.

Rhodesia is honored to have been elected to serve the citizens of Tracy.She firmly believes that elected officials can and should work together with the community to solve the issues we face. She looks forward for what the future holds for Tracy.